.jpg)
I am pleased to announce that today will be the last packing/unpacking event for us for some time! Yea! I can’t wait to get settled into our suite on the Voyager.
This morning, our last in Auckland, proved to be the best weather thus far. Regent had included in this cruise one night at the hotel, the Gala dinner event, breakfast this morning and a transfer for us and our many, many bags to the ship. As instructed, we put our bags outside our room at 9:00 am and Dale, who had already been up working on getting the last of the South America books uploaded, went back to the Internet “gaming” store while I finalized things in the room. Our plan is for me to take care of getting the bags to the ship and Dale, when he is done with the upload, will meet me at the ship.
Click here for the detailed Auckland Day 2 Picture Gallery.
I met with the others in the hotel lobby at 12:00 noon and things were a little disorganized. No one really seemed to know what to do and I found out I was suppose to go “identify” my bags before they would be put on the bus. The bags were spread out in multiple storage areas and conference rooms, but luckily I found mine in the first room and proceeded to tug and pull them out and identify them to the people who were loading them onto the bus.
The first bus had already filled up, so we had to wait for the bus to drop off the first group and return for the rest of us. I decided to go over to the Internet store to let Dale know we would be waiting for the next ½ hour. He was almost done, but not quite. I finally got to the ship at 1:15 and boarded without issue. They told me, on check-in, that the rooms weren’t quite ready yet, but as I left the Constellation theater, they let us know that our rooms were indeed now ready and I went there to drop off my carry on bags.
Dale met up with me about 45 minutes later after walking to the ship. We met up in the La Veranda restaurant where we had a relaxing lunch including a glass of my favorite cruising Chardonnay….Pouilly-Fuissé! Looking forward to, but still putting off, the task of unpacking and settling in to our home for the next 69 days. On our walk to our suite we saw our friends Nick and Sherrie, who we met when we were stranded in Machu Picchu in 2010 when we were cruising around South America on the Mariner. We’ve stayed in touch with them and were excited when we learned they would be on for 2 of the 4 segments of this cruise.
We made plans to meet for dinner later that night and, as I went to the suite to unpack, Dale got re-accustomed with the layout of the Voyager. We’ve cruised on this ship twice before and on her sister ship, The Mariner, four times…so it’s pretty familiar to us. We are excited to be back on board and look forward to the many adventures that await us! One of the first things we need to do is find out if they have the St. Germain Elderflower liqueur, which is a primary ingredient in our newly-found favorite cocktail, the “pink flower”!
Our butler, Trevor, showed up and introduced himself and explained the services he offers and to make sure that everything was OK. He seems like a great guy and we’re all settled in our home away from home for the next 69 days!
Photography Comments:
A busy day from the beginning to the end for your loyal photographer. First, I tried and tried to finish uploading the third SA book but, after getting it all uploaded somehow Blurb didn’t indicate its existence. Ugh!!! I managed to get to the ship walking, grabbing some nice building pictures along the way. But, the real treat of the day was the sunset. After having drinks in the Observation Lounge, Nick, Sherrie, Margaret and I headed for Compass Rose for dinner. On the way out I happened to see a totally amazing sunset setting up. I always carry my trusty S95 in my belt holster holder (a must have!) so I rather rudely told the group that I’d catch up to them later and headed up to Deck 12, which is a walking track that goes completely around the boat. I was the ONLY one up there and you will see the results were spectacular. It would have been better to go get my D700 but then I would have missed it and I didn’t realize how good it was going to get. I got enough to make me happy and then found the group who was having to wait to order until I got there. But, it was worth it. The price you pay for being a designated photographer on a blog!
Trip Summary » Travel with Dale & Margaret - […] Auckland, New Zealand (Embarkation Day) […]